of the latest imports from Europe. IPO and expansion: 1983-2003 In December 1983, Le Château had its initial public offering on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). It raised $7.3 million. By the early 1990s, Le Château had 160 stores and had switched to doing most of its design and manufacturing itself. In the early 1990s, there was a prolonged recession in Canada which hurt most business in the clothing industry. In the mid 90s Le Château experimented briefly with Goth styled clothing and in 1997, it launched a short lived adolescent girls brand "Jr. Girls." By 1999, the company's stock fell to an eight-year low. This led to a management shakeup, store redesign, changes to the merchandise, and according to Le Château, a concerted effort to improve its quality and image. Restructuring: 2003-2011 In 2003, Segal acknowledged the "disposable fashion" stereotype, and said the company "forgot about" the product. "We might have been sloppy," he said. "But now we're putting in more money and time. We have an inspection system and a young lady who's a grad of a textile school. We never had that before." Since then, Le Château has been trying to build up its brand image, and shed the image that its clothes are "only for wearing to nightclubs," a view that still persists. That year, it released a collection based on the 1960s-set Renée Zellweger movie, Down with Love and was the exclusive supplier of clothing to Canadian Idol contestants. Rebranding: 2012-2019 With many US retailers expanding into Canada, including competitor Express, and fast fashion stores such as H&M and Zara gaining market share, Le Château relaunched their brand in 2012. The company went from apparel for young shoppers to "new concept" stores carrying better quality, grown-up clothes at various price points. The rebranding was complete with a new logo and new white, sterile, more upscale stores, with nickel fixtures and glass shelving. Known for their tailored and form-fitting clothes, it sells formal wear, casual wear, evening wear, and footwear. Le Chateau now has over 240 stores in Canada. While Le Château is publicly traded, the company is tightly held with 67% of shares owned by Silverstone, the company's board, executives and two institutional investors. In addition, the shares have less than 2% of voting rights. The current CEO is Segal's wife, Jane Segal. To further the new company direction, Le Château clothes were featured in